Introduction to Criminal Justice

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Introduction to Criminal Justice

• Six Concepts of Law
• Connecting Morality and Law
• JPS 101
• Jerry W. Joplin

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What Is The Connection Between Morality And The
Law?

• Are laws supposed to be moral?
• What is the difference between morality and the
  law?
• Why be moral?
• It is good for society
• It is nice
• God wants it that way
• Why not be immoral

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What is the Purpose of the Law?

• Enforce the morality of society
• Protect individual rights

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What does it Mean to be Moral?

• Follow the rules
• Follow the Golden Rule
• Be good to yourself
• Do what is good for the order of society
• Dont get caught
• Follow a set of principles

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Relate Rules to Principles

• What is the difference between a rule and
  principle?
• How do rules and principles relate to one
  another?
• Give an example of a rule and a principle related
  to the rule.

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Six Concepts of Law

• Foundation of the Law
• Focal Point of the Law
• Formation of the Law
• Application of the Law
• Rationale of the Law
• Discretion within the Law

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Competing Philosophies

• Idealism A method of connecting abstract ideas
  that is not dependent upon verification from in
  any concrete sense.
• Pragmatism A method of connecting abstract
  ideas that are verified through experience in a
  concrete sense.

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Foundation of the Law

• The Foundation of the Law is that which legal
  philosophers narrow upon as they attempt to
  determine a foundation for the law. The focus of
  the law for the Pragmatist is Private Morality,
  while the Idealists are concerned about Public
  Morality. The nature of morality is that which
  distinguishes one legal perspective from another.
  It may be difficult to understand what Foundation
  of the Law means until all the other concepts of
  the law are more clearly understood. When
  attempting to determine where legal philosophers
  begin, one must find a theme they return to time
  after time. A connecting thread that is woven
  throughout their thinking, this is the Foundation
  of the Law.

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Foundation of the Law

• Idealism
• Public Morality
• This is what most people believe moral means.
• Pragmatism
• Private Morality
• This is what every individual is capable of doing
  for oneself.

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Focal Point of the Law

• That upon which one focuses when trying to
  determine the most rudimentary basis of the law.
  The Foundation of the Law is some type of
  morality. The Focal Point is not the purpose of
  the law, but it gains direction from the
  Formation and leads to the Rationale of the Law.

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Focal Point of the Law

• Idealism.
• Product.
• The focus here is on the end result of the law.
  The law is justified by the product produced by
  the law.
• Pragmatism.
• Process.
• The focus here is not on the end result, but how
  the law goes about fulfilling its purpose.

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Formation of the Law

• The concept, Formation of the Law, does not
  refer to the legislative manner in which laws are
  made, but rather to the method by which ideas are
  made into law. Therefore, the emphasis is not
  placed upon any legislative process, but it may
  be concerned about the type of reasoning a
  legislator uses to justify making a law.
  Idealists and Pragmatists differ on their method
  of forming laws. The Pragmatists strive for a
  Rational process that leads them to a logical
  conclusion regarding what should be the nature of
  law. Idealists on the other hand have a more
  Irrational approach. Both sides think they are
  more humane, one being humanely logical and the
  other being humanely emotional.

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Formation of the Law

• Idealist
• Irrational
• Pragmatist
• Rational

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Application of the Law

• Application of the Law is an easily understood
  concept that refers to the manner in which the
  law is administered. It is interesting to note
  that like the Formation of the Law, the process
  of the Application of the Law is also either
  Rational or Irrational. An example of the manner
  in which the law is applied is seen in cases of
  courts affixing sentences to offenders. A
  Pragmatic judge may consider irrational human
  factors, while an Idealistic judge is concerned
  about how the violation of the law is to be
  addressed in objective terms.

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Application of the Law

• Idealism
• Rational
• Pragmatism
• Irrational

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Rationale of the Law

• The purpose of the law is subjective, and as the
  other concepts indicate a perspective dependent
  upon political preferences. For the Idealist the
  purpose of the law is to Enforce Public Morality.
  The enforcement of public morality is the reason
  laws were brought into existence. When a
  violation of the law occurs it becomes the
  responsibility of the state to redress the
  violation with the sole purpose of ensuring that
  the morality of the majority is upheld. If the
  states fail to uphold the morality of the
  majority, the Idealist believes that the state
  itself may be jeopardizing its own existence. The
  Idealistic politician believes that the state has
  a right to protect itself and that the
  enforcement of morality is the basic right of the
  state.
• The Pragmatist believes that the purpose of the
  is to protect the rights of every citizen.

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Rationale of the Law

• Idealism
• To enforce moral standards
• Pragmatism
• To protect individual rights

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Discretion within the Law

• Discretion within the Law is a perplexing
  concept. The most sophisticated jurists and the
  most naïve practitioner share the ambiguity of
  this concept and both question how much
  discretion is acceptable. Jurists very often
  refer to discretion as the scope of authority
  that judges have in making their decisions.
  Whoever philosophically discusses the issue of
  discretion must at sometime or another confront
  the real world of the police officer. How does a
  police officer exercise this authority and who
  determines for the individual patrol officer the
  acceptable limits of discretion? Discretion
  within the law requires every Criminal Justice
  professional to answer the question, what is the
  relationship between morality and the law?

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Discretion Within the Law

• Idealism
• Discouraged
• Pragmatism
• Required

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Morality and Sexual Morality

• Does the concept of morality change when the
  notion of sexuality is introduced?
• Does sexual immorality harm any one?
• Should morality be enforced by the law?
• Should sexual immorality be punished by the law?

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Relating Morality to the Law

• Should there be laws against the following
• Cruelty to animals
• Consumption of alcohol
• Dueling
• Euthanasia
• Begging
• Endurance contests
• Marijuana

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Types of Power

• Remunerative Power
• Power relating to money or property
• Coercive Power
• Power that is related to use of force
• Normative Power
• Power that comes with the position